1xCare Names Advisory Committee for 1xBet Player Safety

1xCare, the responsible gambling initiative backed by the owner of global betting brand 1xBet, has named a four-member Advisory Committee to oversee its player protection programme. Announced on 16 July 2026, the committee is chaired by Simon Westbury and includes gaming lawyer Quirino Mancini, former Manchester City FC chief operating officer Chris Bird, and former Allwyn compliance director Sissel Weitzhandler. Their remit is to hold 1xCare accountable across its four pillars of research, education, technology and player support.

The appointments add a formal governance layer to a programme that 1xBet's owner launched on 30 June 2026 and presented to the wider industry at iGB L!VE in early July. For an operator with a contested regulatory history, the move is as much about credibility as it is about compliance, and the calibre of the names attached to it is exactly what 1xCare wants the industry to notice.

What is the 1xCare Advisory Committee?

The 1xCare Advisory Committee is an oversight body of four external specialists tasked with providing independent scrutiny of 1xCare's responsible gambling and player protection work. According to 1xCare, the committee sets policy direction, guides funding allocation, monitors ethical standards, and holds the programme to account across its four operational pillars. It is chaired by Simon Westbury, who also serves as the initiative's primary spokesperson.

Who sits on the 1xCare Advisory Committee?

The committee has four named members, each assigned a specific stream of responsibility. The line-up blends regulatory law, sports integrity and public policy experience.

Member	Committee stream	Background
Simon Westbury	Chair	Strategic leadership and spokesperson, oversight of policy and funding
Quirino Mancini	Regulation and law	Partner at WH Partners and former president of the International Masters of Gaming Law
Chris Bird	Sport and integrity	Former chief operating officer of Manchester City FC
Sissel Weitzhandler	Public policy and regulation	Former director of compliance and regulatory affairs at Allwyn

1xCare has said academic and further sports integrity seats will be added in the coming months, so the body is expected to grow beyond its founding four.

What is 1xCare and when did it launch?

1xCare is a non-profit responsible gambling and player protection programme established by the owner of 1xBet, the Cyprus-based operator that runs one of the most recognised betting brands in the world. It launched on 30 June 2026 and was showcased to the trade at iGB L!VE in London in early July. 1xCare positions itself as an international hub that consolidates research, education, harm-prevention technology and player support under one structure rather than as a single tool bolted onto the sportsbook.

What are the four pillars of 1xCare?

1xCare is organised around four pillars, and the Advisory Committee oversees all of them. They are:

• Research Hub: funds and supports evidence-based studies on gambling behaviour, addiction risk and emerging technologies.
• EduCare: promotes responsible gambling education and awareness across operators, sports and communities.
• TechShield: advances responsible gaming technology, including early risk-detection tools that flag players at risk of harm.
• Support and Well-Being: improves access to counselling, helplines and support services through grants and partnerships.

What will the Advisory Committee actually do?

The committee's role is governance rather than day-to-day operations. Its members set the direction of each pillar, decide how funding is allocated to research and support partners, and act as an accountability check on the programme's ethical standards. Westbury leads meetings and represents the initiative publicly, Mancini steers the regulatory and legal stream, Bird focuses on integrity in sports and sponsorship partnerships, and Weitzhandler oversees public-policy matters and the funding of public-interest initiatives.

What did the committee chair say?

Simon Westbury framed the committee as the test of whether the initiative is serious.

"An initiative like this is judged by the people willing to stand behind it. Responsible gambling is not a slogan, it is a duty, and this committee exists to hold us to it." Simon Westbury, chair of the 1xCare Advisory Committee.

At the programme's launch Westbury also described 1xCare as "built to contribute, not to compete," stressing that it aims to work alongside existing charities and researchers rather than replace them.

Why is 1xBet investing in responsible gambling now?

The timing reflects a broader push by 1xBet to move deeper into regulated markets, where a credible player protection record is a licensing prerequisite rather than a nice-to-have. Regulated jurisdictions increasingly require operators to fund research, education and treatment, and a visible, independently governed programme helps satisfy both regulators and commercial partners. Building that infrastructure now, with recognisable industry names attached, is a way to signal that the operator intends to compete on the same compliance terms as licensed rivals.

Where is 1xBet licensed today?

According to analysis by iGaming Business, 1xBet holds licences in more than 34 regulated jurisdictions, with a heavy concentration in Africa, including Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Senegal and Cameroon, alongside European licences in Spain and Ireland and Latin American approvals in Brazil, which it entered in February 2026, and Peru. The company traces its first licence to Curacao in 2007 and says it has accelerated regulated-market licensing materially since 2020.

Does 1xBet have a contested regulatory history?

Yes. 1xBet has attracted scrutiny and enforcement action in several markets over the years, and iGaming Business has noted the brand has "a history of eliciting controversy" that it is now trying to distance itself from. That context is central to reading the 1xCare launch: a well-staffed, independently chaired responsible gambling programme is a direct answer to reputational and regulatory pressure, and it is why the credibility of the committee members matters so much to the operator.

How independent is the committee?

The committee is presented as independent oversight, and three of its four members come from outside the business, in gaming law, football administration and lottery compliance. One nuance worth flagging is that chair Simon Westbury has also acted as a strategic advisor to 1xBet on its regulated-market strategy, so he is not a wholly external voice. That dual role is common in operator-funded initiatives, but it is the kind of detail regulators and watchdogs will weigh when judging how much distance sits between the programme and the operator that funds it.

How does this compare with other operators' responsible gambling programmes?

Operator-funded responsible gambling structures are now standard across the regulated industry, from safer-gambling teams inside major listed operators to sector-wide bodies in the UK and EU. What is less common is a standalone, separately branded initiative with its own external advisory board and named funding streams. In that sense 1xCare looks closer to a foundation model than to an in-house compliance department, which is the differentiation the operator is leaning into. The real test, as with every such programme, will be measurable outcomes, published research, funded treatment and transparent reporting, rather than the launch announcement itself.

What happens next?

1xCare has signalled that further appointments, including academic and additional sports integrity seats, will follow in the coming months, and the Research Hub and TechShield pillars are where concrete deliverables are most likely to surface first. For the industry, the questions to watch are how much funding flows to independent research, whether the committee publishes its decisions, and whether the programme's early risk-detection technology is shared or kept proprietary. Those answers, more than the founding line-up, will determine how seriously the initiative is taken.

Frequently asked questions

Who chairs the 1xCare Advisory Committee?

Simon Westbury chairs the 1xCare Advisory Committee. He provides strategic leadership, oversees policy and funding decisions, and acts as the initiative's primary spokesperson.

When was 1xCare launched?

1xCare launched on 30 June 2026 and was presented to the wider industry at iGB L!VE in early July 2026. The Advisory Committee was announced on 16 July 2026.

Who owns 1xCare?

1xCare is a non-profit responsible gambling initiative backed by the owner of 1xBet, the Cyprus-based operator behind the 1xBet betting brand.

What are the four pillars of 1xCare?

The four pillars are the Research Hub, EduCare, TechShield and Support and Well-Being, covering research, education, harm-prevention technology and player support respectively.

Is the 1xCare Advisory Committee independent?

Three of the four founding members are external experts in gaming law, sport and public policy. The chair, Simon Westbury, has also advised 1xBet on regulated-market strategy, so the body is best described as independently staffed oversight of an operator-funded programme.

Updated July 2026. Reporting drawn from 1xCare, SBC News and iGaming Business. This is trade news for readers aged 18 and over, not gambling advice.